Renate Schuler

Renate Schuler, 83, passed away peacefully at her home on Crab Tree Farm in Lake Bluff, Illinois on April 4, 2024.
Renate was born in 1940 in Berlin. The first years of her life she experienced constant bombing, which destroyed her home and Renate and her mother moved to the basement. Near the end of the war Russian soldiers forced their way in and occupied the basement with them.
Fortunately, Renate had her parents, Eva and Hans Hild, who showed such resilience and strength of character as they dealt with these hardships. These early examples helped define her for the rest of her life as a mother, grandmother (Oma), spouse, friend, and lover of animals.
The early years in post-war Berlin were in many ways more challenging than during the conflict.
Russian occupation brought a new cruelty and an even greater scarcity of food. When she was eight, Renate, her mother and father moved to Freising, in Bavaria.
Life began to reflect a normal situation for the first time in Renate's life. However, when she was 11, while skiing with her father, he had a ski accident and died a few days later.
Later, her mother, Eva, married Josef Hagn, who had great affection for Renate. He introduced Renate to horses and harness racing, which became a lifelong passion. She managed to enter the victory circle over 50 times throughout Europe as she juggled school, work, and racing. She continued to race on trips to Germany well into her 40s.
Renate married Jack in 1968. This marked the start of the rest of her life in which she really was able to put her life lessons of hard work, kindness, and perseverance to use. Renate and Jack's journey began as they moved from Freising to Tokyo to Dallas before finally settling in Chicagoland in 1973.
She loved living in the US and quickly took up an interest in all things American, especially her Chicago Cubs. However, it was also important for her to maintain a connection to Germany and her roots. Much of this need was satiated every weekday morning for 20 years as her German radio show "Musik Boutique" emanated across Chicagoland's airwaves. She was proud to be the #1 ethnic radio program for several years.
The final move after 20 years of globetrotting was to the beautiful home Jack and Renate built
on Crab Tree Farm overlooking Lake Michigan in 1989. This move and the fact that they were
empty nesters allowed Renate to return to one of her greatest passions, horses. She cared for
numerous horses over the years and went to the stable multiple times each day. Her dedication, caring, diligence, love for those horses and her dogs and cats, truly sums up her core values and her character.
Renate had the unique talent of making friends everywhere she went. At every grocery store in town, the post office, even the people seated next to her at any restaurant, she created genuine connection with. Her impact on the people in her life spanned far and wide. This was fully realized on a recent family trip back to her hometown in Germany, when she was stopped on the street by many people who remembered her from decades before.
The last ten years of her life were marked by a battle with esophageal cancer. She beat the
odds for many years and showed the same strength and fortitude as she had done throughout her life as she never complained while facing this challenge with optimism and a will to live. The example she set for family and friends during this time will forever leave an indelible impression on all who knew her.
Renate is survived by her husband Jack, her children, Tino (Silke) Schuler, Tanya Sharman, Tess (Sam) Hoffman; and her grandchildren, Emily, Sophie, William, Eva, Janel, Max, Nora, and Fiona.
A Memorial Service and Celebration of one heck of a life will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, July 13, 2024 at Crab Tree Farm, 962 Sheridan Road, Lake Bluff, Illinois. The dress is casual, shorts recommended.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks to honor Renate's wishes and to consider making a donation in her memory to the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago https://anticruelty.org/, or a local no-kill animal shelter in your community.
For more information, contact Reuland & Turnbough Funeral Directors of Lake Forest, (847) 234-9649 or visit www.RTfunerals.com